Charlie Brooker returns to BBC Two for one-off lockdown special Antiviral Wipe
Matt Berry will also front a new mockumentary series.
It's been over three years since Charlie Brooker last put the world to rights with his Wipe series, but now he's returning for a one-off special on the coronavirus pandemic.
Charlie Brooker's Antiviral Wipe (working title) is a half-hour one-off special coming soon to BBC Two that'll see its host take a wry look at COVID-19 news coverage as well as the many and various ways the public are keeping themselves occupied during lockdown.
He'll be joined, as ever, by Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) - who'll return with her own very special brand of investigative journalism - and clueless talking head Barry Shitpeas (Al Campbell).
BBC Two has also announced Squeamish About... a follow-up to last year's mockumentary The Road to Brexit. Matt Berry will present the series as "Michael Squeamish", with four new episodes – co-written by Berry and Toast of London's Arthur Matthews – shining a weird and wonderful light onto a different topic.
Other new commissions include Comedians Playing With Themselves – which will see comedians including Bob Mortimer, Kerry Godliman, Tom Allen, Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar tasked with entertaining and enlightening the nation across six 15-minute episodes, all without leaving their homes – and a full series of Alma's Not Normal, the sitcom written by and starring Sophie Wilan which aired its pilot episode to over a million viewers earlier this month.
Alongside these upcoming series, BBC Two controller Patrick Holland has announced a revamped Thursday night line-up with a focus on comedy.
Beginning in May, Thursday nights on BBC Two will see back-to-back comedy beginning with the debut of football comedy The First Team from the creators of The Inbetweeners, alongside a new series of QI.
Later in the year, the Thursday night comedy line up will feature the second series of What We Do in the Shadows featuring Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou and Kayvan Novak and the second series of There She Goes, starring David Tennant and Jessica Hynes.
"BBC Two has always been the home of the most exciting comic talents and the most brilliantly conceived worlds," said Patrick Holland. "Sophie Willan’s Alma’s Not Normal is one of the freshest voices in years and follows on from the successful piloting of shows like Motherland and The Other One. During these challenging times I am delighted to bring Thursday comedy nights back for the audience."
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
